World news | The Guardian

Authorities have arrested dozens of people accused of taking advantage of the chaos in Syria to settle old scoresFighters affiliated with Syria's new leaders have carried out 35 summary executions over 72 hours, mostly of Assad-era officers, a war monitor has said.The authorities, installed by the rebel forces that toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad last month, said they had carried out multiple arrests in the western Homs area over unspecified violations". Continue reading...

A vessel has been seized after suspected sabotage of fibre optic line, probably due to external influence, Latvia saysAn undersea fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, probably as a result of external influence, Riga has said, prompting Nato to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggering a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities.Sweden's security service has seized control of a vessel as part of the inquiry, the country's prosecution authority said. Continue reading...

Israel delays removal of troops, accusing Hamas of breaking terms of deal by failing to release civilian hostage

PC Morgan Younger ran towards man at London petrol station, disarmed him and restrained him till back-up cameA police officer who raced" towards a knife-wielding suspect and single-handedly tackled and disarmed him as he was trying to stab another man has been commended for his bravery.PC Morgan Younger had stopped at a petrol station on Lee High Road in Lewisham, south-east London, intending to buy a drink on Saturday afternoon at about 3pm. Continue reading...

Former secretary of state has faced threats from Iran since since he took hard-line stances on the Islamic RepublicThe Ohio Republican Mike Turner said on Sunday's Face the Nation he is very concerned" for former secretary of state Mike Pompeo after Donald Trump revoked his security detail earlier in the week.Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration, were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

US president has suggested Palestinians should leave Gaza for neighbouring countries to just clean out' whole strip

Counter-terrorism scheme should have accepted more help to deal with the Southport killer despite following policyPrevent's assessment of the danger posed by Axel Rudakubana followed policy at the time, an official review will find but it will criticise the scheme for rejecting extra help to tackle his interest in violence.This week the government is expected to publish the review into Prevent's handling of the three referrals of Rudakubana, the last of which was three years before he commited his atrocity on a school summer holiday dance class in Southport. Continue reading...

Works created in hospital after ear mutilation incident to be shown at Courtauld Gallery next monthTwo Vincent van Gogh paintings created in the months after the Dutch artist mutilated his ear will be exhibited in London for the first time.The works, The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles and The Ward in the Hospital at Arles, would appear at the Courtauld Gallery from next month, the Art Newspaper reported. Continue reading...

Putin ally projected to easily secure seventh term in election that US and EU have said could not be free or fairAlexander Lukashenko is firmly on track to win a seventh five-year term as Belarusian president with 87.6% of the vote in Sunday's election, according to an exit poll broadcast on state television.Lukashenko, a close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has been in power in the country since 1994. Continue reading...

Police arrest 19-year-old after officer seriously injured by car driven at speed' towards her in CheadlePolice have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after an officer was seriously injured when a vehicle was driven at speed" towards her in a car park in Greater Manchester on Saturday night.The incident took place at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle. Continue reading...

Three young scientists set traps to capture and film species of special concern in move that can help conserve the shrewIn a 7,000ft-high marshy spot in the cold, rugged eastern Sierra mountains, two groups of mammals scurried around at night. One was going about their normal nocturnal routine of hunting worms. The other was hoping for a glimpse of an elusive creature: the Mount Lyell shrew, the only known California mammal never photographed alive.The three young student scientists faced a tight timeline. They baited 150 pitfall traps - small cups dug into the earth to catch wandering creatures - with cat food and mealworms and monitored them across a 600ft area, checking each trap every two hours for any signs of their goal. They slept no more than two hours at a time. Shrews have such a fast metabolism that they die in traps quickly, one of the reasons this species had never been photographed or studied live. Continue reading...

Source says purpose of Wang Yi's visit is to hold first UK-China strategic dialogue since 2018China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, is due to visit the UK next month for talks with the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.The Foreign Office (FCDO) is drawing up plans to host the Chinese foreign minister in mid-February, according to three people briefed on the plans. The FCDO declined to comment. Continue reading...

Man, 19, died after car struck in Scotland and 20-year-old man killed in Ireland, as Met Office issues further warningsTwo people were killed by falling trees during the record-breaking gusts of Storm Eowyn, which also damaged property and led to widespread power cuts across the UK and Ireland.The deaths were confirmed as the Met Office issued more wind and rain weather warnings, which are in place until Tuesday. Continue reading...

People shot at attempting to get back to their homes, with Israel accusing Lebanese army and Hamas of violating deals

Lack of knowledge about Holocaust identified as well as level of denial and disinformation seen on social mediaA third of young adults in the UK are unable to name Auschwitz or any of the other concentration camps and ghettoes where the crimes of the Holocaust were committed, according to a study.Other growing gaps in knowledge - especially among those aged 18-29 - were also identified, as part of a major international survey in countries including the US and UK. Continue reading...

Rory Talbot to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday over killing of Mark Talbot, 75, in PutneyA 30-year-old man has been charged with murdering his father after a 75-year-old man was stabbed to death.Scotland Yard said officers were called in the early hours of Friday to a property on Deodar Road in Putney, south-west London, after reports of a stabbing. Continue reading...

Tenant challenged procedure after 500 docked from universal credit payment at landlord's request, with whom he was in dispute over repairsA computer says yes" program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants' universal credit benefits without requiring officials to check first with the claimant has been declared unlawful by the courts.The challenge was brought by a tenant who was outraged to find the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had docked 500 from his universal credit payment at the request of his landlord, with whom he was in dispute over repairs. Continue reading...

The movement is on the upswing thanks to Trump but a question lingers: what is their role in his administration?Minutes into the National Pro-Life Summit, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, had convinced its more than attendees to leap to their feet. She was recording a video, and she had a message she wanted them to send to Donald Trump.THANK YOU MISTER PRESIDENT!" the crowd in the ballroom thundered, before bursting into raucous applause - complete with wolf whistles. Continue reading...

Dutton's cabinet reshuffle added the shadow minister of government efficiency role to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's position - but it sounds a bit familiar

Former Labour MP puts forward amendment to reform bill aiming to end privilege for 26 C of E bishopsChurch of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords by right should be removed as part of the government's changes to the second chamber, according to the veteran legislator Harriet Harman.Harman, who was a Labour MP for more than 40 years until 2024, has put forward an amendment to the government's hereditary peers bill, aimed at ending the automatic right of 26 bishops to sit in the Lords. Continue reading...

Paul Butler, 53, charged over death of Claire Chick, 48, who was found seriously injured on WednesdayA 53-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a nurse and university lecturer who was found injured in the street in Plymouth.Officers were called to West Hoe Road at 8.55pm on Wednesday after reports that a woman had been seriously injured. Continue reading...

Labour's James Frith and Conservative Caroline Nokes gifted tickets by Paddy Power worth up to 1,000 eachTwo MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company - weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.Labour MP James Frith, who has campaigned for safer gambling, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, were gifted platinum" hospitality tickets by Paddy Power worth up to 1,000 each. Continue reading...

Far-right chatrooms are abuzz as extremists plan to use the next four years as breathing room' and look to expandOne week into Donald Trump's second administration and the verdict among far-right activists and neo-Nazis is that the next four years will be a time to relax, organize and take advantage of the popular awakening of American fascism.Be ready to cash out the next four years," wrote one delighted neo-Nazi account on Telegram, in a post viewed more than 1,000 times. Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions with power, build new institutions while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist." Continue reading...

Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans and taken months to reconsider, physicians sayAmerican doctors are accusing US health insurance giants of causing deadly delays to vital medical procedures and care - and putting profits ahead of their patients' health.Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans, and taken months to reconsider, according to physicians who spoke to the Guardian. Continue reading...

President tells reporters he believes US will take control of island, after horrendous' call with Denmark PMDonald Trump has said he believes the US will take control of Greenland, after details emerged of a horrendous" call in which he made economic threats to Denmark, which has insisted the territory is not for sale.Speaking onboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: I think we're going to have it," and claimed that the Arctic island's 57,000 residents want to be with us". Continue reading...

Impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeoul could face years in prison after six-hour imposition which set off political upheavalSouth Korea's prosecutors indicted the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on 3 December, the main opposition party said.The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon could face years in prison for his shock martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media. Continue reading...

Witness in fraud case was allegedly killed in a scheme set up by the fiance of a former stuntwoman turned attorneyIn a blockbuster development in a long-running case that exposed a multimillion-dollar staged-accident fraud scheme, a man linked to the murder of a key federal witness recently pleaded guilty - and alleged that his attorney's fiance, a disbarred lawyer, set up the killing.With his family looking on, Ryan Red" Harris agreed to a 35-year sentence in the murder in exchange for his cooperation in the massive case, which has led to more than 50 guilty pleas by people who admitted to intentionally ramming into 18-wheel trucks then collecting money from fraudulent lawsuits. Continue reading...

About 70 people, including patients, believed to have been killed in attack blamed on rebel Rapid Support ForcesAbout 70 people have been killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the head of the World Health Organization said on Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks as the African nation's civil war has escalated in recent days.The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal hospital was blamed by local officials on the rebel Rapid Support Forces, a group that has recently faced apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces under the command of army chief Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Continue reading...

Jason Riddle says he rejected pardon because it happened. I did those things, and they weren't pardonable'At least one more person who was convicted in connection with the 2021 US Capitol attack carried out by Donald Trump supporters has rejected a pardon from the president, saying he believed his actions weren't pardonable".In an interview published Friday by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), US navy veteran Jason Riddle said: It's almost like [Trump] was trying to say it didn't happen. And it happened. I did those things, and they weren't pardonable. Continue reading...

In two actions, migrant workers claim exploitation while farmers demonstrate against inheritance tax planThis is a tale of two countrysides. One was featured prominently on Saturday by broadcasters as farmers held demonstrations throughout the UK against inheritance tax plans they believe will cripple family farms.A smaller protest staged a day earlier outside the Home Office received almost no attention. A small band of fruit and vegetable pickers, mainly from Latin America, were highlighting their battle against what they call the exploitation of migrant workers. Continue reading...

Indigenous scientist Dr Katrina Wruck awarded Young Australian of the Year, and charity co-founder Brother Olly Pickett named Senior Australian of the Year

Diplomatic frenzy and rattled nerves in republic as mayor and former president reject US president's commentsFrom a modern control room high above the canal expansion - overlooking the Cocoli locks, then lakes, rainforest canopy and, eventually, the Atlantic ocean - it barely registers that the era of gunboat diplomacy is returning to the Panama canal.But four days into Donald Trump's second administration, here we are. Trump has declared that he is taking back" the Panama canal, sending TV crews from Washington to Beijing scrambling here to cover a crisis that has led to frenzied diplomatic efforts and elicited fears of a repeat of the 1989 US military invasion. Continue reading...

The 70-year-old former collective farm boss has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994Belarusians began voting on Sunday, with president Alexander Lukashenko expected to cruise to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.Lukashenko - a 70-year-old former collective farm boss - has been in power in reclusive, Moscow-allied Belarus since 1994. Continue reading...

Striking image will be unveiled at National Portrait Gallery in March, as part of a major exhibition of the Norwegian master's portraitsAt first glance, it is a striking portrait by Edvard Munch, painted in 1892, a year before the Norwegian master was to create his most famous masterpiece, The Scream.But peer closely at the man's sleeve along the bottom edge and two embracing, ethereal figures in a mysterious moonlit landscape are revealed. Continue reading...

It's the latest example of the Coalition appearing to echo or praise US president Donald Trump's new administration

Full restoration could take days, says energy official, with conditions still difficult and more yellow alerts issuedAbout 40,000 people in Scotland remained without electricity on Saturday night in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn and some may have to wait several days before it is restored, according to an energy distribution director.As of 4pm on Saturday, about 28,000 Scottish Power customers were without power, while as of 7.30pm, about 12,000 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customers were also without power. Continue reading...

Nigerian officials say a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last FridayMultiple people were injured on a United Airlines flight heading from Lagos, Nigeria, to Washington DC last week.In a statement released on Friday, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that a Boeing 787-800 belonging to United Airlines was forced to make an emergency return last Friday. Continue reading...

David Armitage, resident in Thailand since 2004 death of Lamduan Armitage, detained by immigration officialsThe British husband of Lamduan Armitage, a Thai woman whose body was found in a stream in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004, has been detained by police in Thailand.

Four soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza are back in Israel and 200 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails. This blog is now closed.It is being reported that dozens of Hamas fighters are gathering in Palestine Square in the heart of Gaza City, where the release of Israeli captives may take place.The release of the four female soldiers is expected at some point this morning. They will be received by the Red Cross in Gaza and then handed over to Israeli forces, who will transport them back to Israel. Continue reading...

Pressure growing on Labour to improve trade with EU as Rachel Reeves admits Brexit damaged UKKeir Starmer is under growing pressure to forge closer economic links with Europe five years on from Brexit, as a major new poll shows voters clearly favour prioritising more trade with the EU over the US.The MRP survey of almost 15,000 people by YouGov for the Best for Britain thinktank shows more people in every constituency in England, Scotland and Wales back closer arrangements with the EU rather than more transatlantic trade with Washington. MRP polls use large data samples to estimate opinion at a local level Continue reading...

Source says: The Danes are in crisis mode' after US president's call with prime minister Mette FrederiksenDonald Trump had a fiery phone call with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen over his demands to buy Greenland, according to senior European officials.Speaking to the Financial Times, officials said that Trump, then still president-elect, spoke with Frederiksen for 45 minutes last week, during which he was described to be aggressive and confrontational about Frederiksen's refusal to sell Greenland to the US. Continue reading...

Leo, 12, was stabbed while walking home from school on Tuesday afternoonA 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Leo Ross, 12, who was stabbed in the stomach while walking home from school in Birmingham.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been remanded into custody to appear at Birmingham magistrates court on Monday having been charged on Saturday, West Midlands police said. Continue reading...

The latest protests come after private meeting between Robert Fico and Vladimir Putin in DecemberThe Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, has rejected calls for his resignation after tens of thousands demonstrated against his government's policy shift closer to Russia.About 60,000 people protested in the capital, Bratislava, on Friday and approximately 100,000 turned out for rallies in cities across the country, the largest demonstrations since Fico returned to power in 2023. Continue reading...

Detainees fear their return could be imminent despite UN experts urging Bangkok to halt possible transferRelatives of Uyghurs detained in Thailand for more than a decade have begged the Thai authorities not to deport the 48 men back to China, after the detainees suggested their return appeared imminent.A UN panel of experts this week urged Thailand to immediately halt the possible transfer", saying the men were at real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned". Continue reading...

Opinium survey of 2,000 adults found concern about the impact of growing wealth inequality in the UKGrowing wealth inequality is increasing the risk of societal collapse, according to a new Fairness Foundation report that shows nearly two-thirds of Britons are concerned about the political influence of very rich people. People losing faith with democracy, economic shocks and environmental breakdowns are some of the potential triggers for a decline or collapse in social cohesion, the thinktank said.One warning sign of democracy being undermined is a lack of public trust in institutions, so it commissioned a survey of 2,000 adults by Opinium, which found 63% believe the very rich have too much influence on UK politics, compared to 40% for businesses and religious organisations, and 38% for international organisations, such as the EU and UN. Continue reading...

Thousands of homes in Britain and Ireland still without power after wind speeds of up to 114mph recordedStorm Eowyn was probably the strongest to hit the UK in the past 10 years, the Met Office has said.At its height, it left more than 1 million people without power as hurricane-strength gusts battered the country, bringing widespread disruption to rail and air services. Continue reading...

Retailer says it plans to explore strategic options' for the future of cash generative' arm of the companyOne of the world's oldest retailers, WH Smith, has confirmed it is in talks to sell its city- and town-centre stores, which it has described as the hub of the high street".First established in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street in London by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, it expanded to become one of the UK's best-known retail chains. Company bosses said this weekend they were exploring potential strategic options", including a possible sale. Continue reading...

Second series of BBC drama was initially rejected by all the streaming services, Peter Kosminsky tells inquiry into UK film and TVMark Rylance took a significant" pay cut along with other members of the Wolf Hall team to get the second series made, the director Peter Kosminsky has said.The BBC drama, based on Hilary Mantel's final novel in her epic Tudor trilogy, returned last year with Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Continue reading...

With four similar expansions set for take-off around the south-east of England, could the proposal finally get clearance?Two decades and 0.2C of global warming after a Labour government last weighed in on Heathrow, the answer appears the same: keep digging. Rachel Reeves's anticipated backing for a third runway would again prioritise growth and the global economy over climate. Interviewers are even asking Ed Miliband if he would resign in protest - a question that last troubled the headlines in 2009.Airport expansion in the UK, especially in the south-east of England, is coming regardless, with four other London-branded airports sneaking ahead in the queue. Stansted and City have both been granted permission to grow. Fully developed plans that will radically alter the scale of Gatwick and Luton have, meanwhile, been through the inspectorate and await ministerial signoff. Continue reading...

Arizona capital, made drier and hotter by climate crisis, edges towards longest streak without recorded rainThe US city of Phoenix is close to breaking another extreme weather record, this time the longest stretch without rain as drought conditions worsen across Arizona.As of Saturday, there had been no recorded rainfall in America's fifth largest city for 154 consecutive days - the second longest dry spell on record as the climate crisis collides with natural weather patterns. Continue reading...